Post Three

Posted by: sickbrag on: February 7, 2012

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Last week we learned about the History of Mecca leading up the arrival of the Prophet Muhammad. It began with the story of Abraham and how his servant/wife occupied the land of Mecca until the Quraush Tribe arrived and took over. The prophet Muhammad is of this tribe and comes along to disrupt the social order via God’s word.

In much of the readings I find many disputes over the origins of Muhammad or the actual cause of this or that. I believe the meaning of religious scripture comes from a source transcendent of the facts that happen, and that most early religious scripture needed to employ imagery and symbolism to reach a widely illiterate audience. Just because something is not factual does not mean that we cannot derive meaning from it.

The New York Times recently published an article that Radical U.S. Muslims are of little threat since an unusual peak of arrests and plots in 2009. Maybe Khan’s story finally made it all the way to the big dogs in New York. It also stated that no pattern of ethnicity emerged in the arrests, with about six of Arab ancestry, five of white ancestry, and some others- finally, Sam’s death was not in vain!

In response to dotdotdot12, I also believe popular media (think Rupert Murdoch) plays a large role in the biases around religion and ethnicity in America. I almost get pangs in the rational side of my brain whenever men like Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh open their mouths. Not to say “alternative” news sources are more reliable sources of information. Watch where the money/power comes from in the information/media sources you are reading.